"Plenty to work on"- Mikaela Shiffrin reflects on her fifth-place finish at the World Cup season opener

Mikaela Shiffrin spoke about her performance in the first race of the Alpine Skiing World Cup in Solden, Austria. The American skier finished fifth in her season opener and expressed her elation about returning to the slopes as well as hoped to put forward great performances as the season progresses.

Shiffrin returned to the slopes after facing several hardships in the previous season, which included a devastating crash in Italy, which led her to miss several races. The 29-year-old could not put forward her best performance in the race and spoke to the media, revealing that she struggled with her timing, which eventually slowed her down.

"If I miss the timing, then I'm just kind of fighting against the tracks the whole way down. This hill, if you are fighting it, then it is so slow," she said.

Days after the race, Mikaela Shiffrin took to social media to reflect on her performance. The American skier was optimistic about her upcoming race and expressed that she needed to put in a lot of hard work for the rest of the season.

"Solid start…some positives for sure, and plenty to work on as we prep for the next races!💪 #weareskiing#stifelusskiteam," she wrote.

Furthermore, the season opener witnessed one of the best performances from the USA's women's Grand Slalom team in the last three decades, which included four of the top 11 positions.

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Mikaela Shiffrin on trying to register her 100th World Cup win

Mikaela Shiffrin at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Finals - Women's Downhill - Source: Getty

With 97 World Cup wins under her belt, Mikaela Shiffrin has always been asked questions about registering her 100th World Cup win. The American athlete spoke to Eurosport and revealed how she has been trying to snub questions about records as her major focus will be on putting forward her best performance.

"My mentality for so long has been trying to avoid those questions. I've talked to you all about this, like, 'the numbers again, the records, I don't want to talk about the records, I don't think about the records'. Even though that may be true, bringing energy to the sport is never a bad thing," she said.

"Whether you want to talk about records or statistics or anything, and I feel energized right now when people bring up 100. I think it's incredible that people are still following along this journey and excited about it," she added.

Furthermore, Shiffrin revealed how her team has reevaluated their choices to compete in events after the devastating crash in Cortina d'Ampezzo which ultimately led her to opt out of downhill races in this season.